Safeguarding communication networks is becoming increasingly critical as the volume and importance of transmitted data needing protection expands, and attacks to communication system are becoming progressively sophisticated. Secure communication systems must incorporate safety measures for transmitting sensitive information. Such communication systems can be found in space and defense programs, commercial aviation, as well as in daily activities including WiFi, cellphones, wireless communication systems, and/or cable networks. Moreover, communications within the aviation industry among on-board systems, between flight crew and on-board systems, flight crew and ground-based control, on-board systems and their respective vendors, even between passengers and external sources/destinations require network infrastructures.
Unfortunately, in many communication systems, adversaries can intercept, capture and/or modify transmitted data. For example, messages can be redirected by copying over (encrypted or unencrypted) headers of other messages and/or by replaying previously captured complete messages. An illicit reset or shut down command sent to a mission critical component can be disastrous. Moreover, adversaries may even access parts of transmitted messages, which can be vulnerable to attacks, such as the identification of the recipient or the sender of the communication transmission. Adversaries can expose information about system activities.
To thwart these threats, the message recipient must detect such attacks on the communication system or transmitted message. In traditional threat models, attacks on communication channels are investigated, while the senders and receivers are assumed to operate in secure environments. In many practical cases, the traditional threat model is not adequate, as an adversary may gain physical access to senders or receivers, in addition to listening to messages, and also sending rogue messages. Therefore, it may be desirable to have a system and method that provides a robust solution for secure communication in communication systems that are improved in security and more efficient in operation.